Adjustable paintball drop tube

ABSTRACT

A improved adjustable paintball drop tube for use in conjunction with paintball guns and paintball loaders in paintball games and sports, wherein the improved adjustable paintball drop tube enables any of a variety of loaders to be adapted to any of a variety of paintball guns. Through the use of heliacal retention segments, the improved adjustable paintball drop tube also enables the user to more effectively retain paintball loaders throughout the vigorous activity inherent in the sport of paintball without said loader separating from the improved adjustable paintball drop tube, and thereby maintain a source of paintball ammunition for the paintball gun. The improved adjustable paintball drop tube can be formed of any of a variety of materials including molded plastic, aluminum or steel commonly used for such applications and known within the art.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the sport of paintball and paintball drop tube or “feed neck” components for adapting paintball “magazines” or “loaders” to paintball guns or “markers”, and more specifically this invention relates to an improved adjustable paintball drop tube.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Paintball drop tubes began to see use as a distinct component on paintball guns around 1989, originally composed of plastic, and often relying on nothing more than a friction fit between the paintball gun on one side of the tube, and the loader on the other side. Originally these “tubes” were in fact elbows bent at an angle due to the angled feed port on the paintball guns of that era. Most paintball drop tubes or “feed necks” continued be composed of plastic for some years, although some employed a tightening means such as a screw and nut to tension one end or both ends of the drop tube. Even more recently, drop tubes began to be fashioned from aluminum, and began to replace the actual feed ports on the paintball guns, offering certain benefits such as a lower profile, certain feeding benefits within the tube, or a superior clamping means between the tube and the loader. Most drop tubes or “feed necks” also began to adopt a more secure attachment means affixing them to the paintball gun, such as threads upon the tubular neck portion, set screw holes on extension from the tubular neck portion, or similar means.

Additional advancements in the art also created a divergence in form, with serious tournament grade paintball drop tubes generally requiring tools to tighten or loosen the relationship between the loader and the paintball drop tube, while those drop tubes geared toward recreational play employ a quick release of some kind to free the loader from the paintball drop tube such as the device combination specified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,824 Hatcher. The need among serious players for keeping the loader firmly affixed to the paintball drop tube, and thereby to the paintball gun generally outweigh their desires for a quick release mechanism thus generally relegate quick release systems such as Hatcher's to more of a recreational use. Any mechanism that can be opened or loosened with a single movement of the hand, may also be loosened accidentally on the field by a single movement of some foreign object, thus releasing the loader from the gun, depriving the gun of ammunition and possibly destroying the loader in the fall.

Additionally, as the years have progressed the technology utilized in paintball loaders has increased as has the weight of the loaders filled with electronics and batteries, placing additional stresses on the junction between the paintball gun and the loader. This has also increased the need for gripping force retaining the loader into the drop tube.

Some drop tubes now incorporate O-rings formed of a relatively soft, sticky material to increase the friction between the drop tube and the neck of the loader, while others rely merely upon increased gripping pressure in an attempt to more securely grip the loader. Both paths may provide some benefit but at an expense. The O-rings are prone to wear, and at times are dislodged from the internal diameter of the drop tube and lodged in the inner workings of the paintball gun, while increased gripping pressure alone at times leads to applying excessive pressure which may actually crack the neck of the expensive loader.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a medium wherein the above noted problems and failures are overcome by introducing a system that secures the loader in the drop tube without adding soft o-rings, or other fragile components, while simultaneously providing a superior grip that does not rely on more pounds of crushing force for retention.

Though certain prior art depicts various feed necks or drop tubes, no prior art known to the applicants describes an adjustable paintball drop tube that enables the drop tube itself to apply greater downward grip without an increase in the pounds of gripping force. Further, no known prior art describes a feed neck or drop tube whatsoever utilizing helix retention segments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is comprised of a improved adjustable paintball drop tube with attachment means on one end to affix to any of a variety of paintball guns, and an adjustable socket on the opposite end with segmented fingers or “retention segments” to accept any of a variety of paintball loaders. The retention segments will be sharply angled forming a helix-like appearance, a constricting ring or clamp is situated around the circumference of the retention segments allowing some degree of adjustability to aid in fitting varying sized loaders and retaining them during the extreme agitation inherent to the sport of paintball. The sharp angling of the retention segments exerts downward force on the paintball loader, aiding in retention of the paintball loader, and further mimics the qualities of a screw thread, enabling the user to twist the loader in and out of the retention segments of the improved adjustable paintball drop tube.

The improved adjustable paintball drop tube is essentially tubular in shape, generally machined from aluminum, threaded into a paintball gun breech on one end and holding a loader in the opposite end through friction fitting plus the unique bite provided by the helix retention segments of the invention, serving the primary purpose of joining various loaders to a paintball gun in a reliable fashion.

The improved adjustable paintball drop tube of the invention could take the form of one tubular body threaded, or otherwise attachable to a variety of paintball guns, and machined on the opposite end into a loader retention socket with heliacal or angled mill cuts forming the helix-like retention segments around the entire diameter or a substantial diameter of the tubular body. The retention segments could further include a constriction means such as a clamp or constricting ring to decrease the effective inside diameter of the loader retention socket by flexing the retention segments inward to grip the outer diameter of a loader inserted within the socket. In the preferred embodiment, the improved adjustable paintball drop tube would be formed of two components; the tubular body (including gun attachment means, and loader retention socket) and the constriction means, such as a clamp ring. The tubular body could be formed of any of a variety of materials including certain resilient molded polymer mixes, but aluminum or stainless construction is the preferred embodiment. The clamp ring could also be formed of any of a variety of materials but in the preferred embodiment it will be comprised also of aluminum with a threaded portion enabling the clamping action through the tightening of a screw or bolt. Clamp rings are of many varieties and are generic within the fabrication arts and will not be further explained or depicted here.

In operation, the improved adjustable paintball drop tube will be threaded into the desired paintball gun, a loader will be inserted into the loader retention socket, and the clamp ring will be tightened, pressing the heliacal or angled retention segments inward against the outer circumference of the loader. The retention segments will impress the softer material of the loader along the lower edge of the angled retention segment giving greater mechanical advantage for the purpose of retaining the loader. The impression also forms a thread-like quality, allowing the user to twist the loader off.

Taken severally or in combination the novel features of the improved adjustable paintball drop tube offers benefits exclusive to the sport of paintball.

The present embodiments, described in the foregoing, satisfies the need within the art by providing a improved adjustable paintball drop tube which allows the user numerous capabilities not otherwise available within the sport of paintball.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the invention are listed below:

-   -   (a) It is one object of this invention to increase the retention         of loaders to ball drop tubes regardless of the user's         orientation or movement     -   (b) It is another object of this invention to provide a more         effective way of attaching and removing loaders from paintball         guns;     -   (c) It is another object of this invention to eliminate the         separation of the loader from the paintball gun during the         course of a paintball game;     -   (d) It is another object of this invention to allow a greater         range of different loaders to be effectively retained upon a         paintball gun;

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetic suffixes.

FIG. 1 shows an exterior profile view of a improved adjustable paintball drop tube with a clamp ring in place situated on a paintball gun with a paintball loader affixed at its upper extremities.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   10 An improved adjustable paintball drop tube     -   11 A paintball loader     -   12 A paintball gun     -   13 A helix retention segment     -   14 A clamp ring

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS—FIGS. 1 to 2

Now turning to the drawing it will be observed that it depicts a detailed drawing of one typical embodiment of improved adjustable paintball drop tube 10 with a paintball loader 11 atop a typical paintball gun 12. The helix retention segments 13 are compressed by clamp ring 14 and bite into the neck of the loader 11 retaining it atop the paintball gun 12.

OPERATION OF INVENTION FIGS. 1 to 2

The manner of using the is as follows in this preferred embodiment: the paintball drop tube of the invention 10 is threaded or otherwise installed into a paintball gun 12. A paintball loader 11 is placed within the open upper portion of the drop tube 10, the clamp ring 14 is compressed, in turn compressing the helix retention segments 13 which grip the loader 11, retaining it upon the top of the paintball gun 12.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF INVENTION

Thus the reader will see that improved adjustable paintball drop tube of this invention provides a new and highly effective means for enabling the competitive paintball player to adapt varying loaders to his or her paintball gun, and retain said loader through very vigorous action despite the players position or physical attitude, and further allows the player potentially remove the loader from said paintball gun in a twisting motion without the aid of tools through the unique helix retention segments of the invention.

While the above description contains certain specifics, it should not be construed as a limitation upon the described invention, but merely as providing illustrations of certain currently preferred embodiments.

Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

1. An improved adjustable paintball drop tube comprised of a tubular body portion and a plurality of angled retention segments.
 2. An improved adjustable paintball drop tube comprised of: a. a tubular body portion b. a plurality of heliacal retention segments c. an annular clamping means around circumference of said retention segments
 2. An improved adjustable paintball drop tube comprised of: d. a tubular body portion e. a plurality of retention segments each formed in the shape of a partial helix f. an annular clamping means around circumference of said retention segments g. an attachment means at the base of said tubular body portion 